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Tuesday, 27 November 2012

A Visit to Cellefrouin, Part 1

Seeming at first glance to be” just another” lovely French
historic and rural village, Cellefrouin, set in the steep sided Font river valley, seems to have more than its fair share of
interesting features, some of which I will show you in this pictorial ramble and some in part 2, as there is too much for one post!

This is the local map for walkers, a common feature of Charente villages and erected for the benefit of the many French and foreign visitors who enjoy rambling through the totally unspoilt scenery!

Using this information, we took this small untarred back road, parallel to the river, to see if we could find the watermill reputed to exist in a nearby hamlet. No luck with that, but then another delight appeared around a corner!

This charming but neglected little building next to the river is, I believe, the last remnant of the railway halt which served the village. That must have been a long time ago, as there is no indication of where the track used to run, save for the nearby river bridge (below), across which the railway must have passed.

The river Font, flowing westwards.

The village's old weighbridge. As you will have seen from earlier blogs, the authorities like to preserve the old ways of life and these little features are generally well-kept, some even boasting flower baskets in the summer!

The hotel and restaurant on the main road through the village. This forms quite a busy route for lorries, as the road takes non-motorway traffic, following the river's course, west to east across the area. On the chilly but dry November day we visited, all downstairs shutters were closed up, as you can see! Many such businesses shut down for holidays before Christmas and this could be the reason for the lack of activity.

Almost next door is the Mairie, presumably closed for lunch! A grand building for a relatively small village of 500 or so inhabitants.

Just across the road, we saw this lovely fountain and water trough. Below and to the left in the picture, a little stream runs downhill in a deep channel, away to the main river.

With my liking for mysterious windows and doors, I just couldn't resist this example, set in a huge stone block for some forgotten reason!!

Iron gates in unmistakable French style, but these need some TLC!

and last but certainly not least in Cellefrouin part 1, the War Memorial.

Part two to follow next week with more places of interest in the village.

94 comments:

Hi Diane .. great photos and I do love the tours you take us on ... I wonder about the stone hole - milk storage, post, a 'pot' hole ... strange! The little fountain is beautiful in its rustic way - it'd be great if we in the UK protected and revered our things as the French do in their villages ..

DEAR DIANE, I LOVE THESE POSTS OF YOURS SHOWING US SECRET PLACES OF THAT FRANCE THAT IS NOT USUALLY SEEN ON THE GREAT PICTURES. I ENJOY EVERY INCH OF THEM AND THIS ONE IS A LITTLE JEWEL, THAT ROUND DOOR IS BEATIFUL, I ALSO HAVE A SPECIAL FEELING FOR DOORS AND WINDOWS. REGARDS, PAMELA

Beautiful pictures, the fountain reminds me of the ones in Rome, the water looks so refreshing! Diane, my husband cannot cook either, he can just eat from a can! He does help clean up though, since I have fibromyalgia I cannot do any heavy work. I cook and he washes the dishes:) You should see all the kitchen helpers I have...a bread making machine, a mixer, blender, a Kenwood kitchen helper, all because I cannot do things like kneading or beating, I get exhausted if I just stand up for more than 15 minutes. Anyway, I do what I can. It took 8 years to diagnose fibromyalgia so now that I know, I adjust my schedule...so to speak, I stay home all day practically:) A big hug! Thank you for stopping by.

Francesca sorry to hear you have fibromyalgia, I am sure it does not make life easy. I also have all the kitchen helpers as I cannot stand still for long, though things like beating are no problem so long as I can sit. I broke my back as a teenager, and although I have been very lucky with no major problems, standing still is one of the things I cannot do. Very frustrating when you have not got a diagnosis, thankfully you know know what you are up against. Take care Diane

I love the way in which the French preserve their heritage. Cellefrouin looks a very pretty village, and I look forward to seeing the rest of it. We don't walk round our villages at all, but I am hoping that at some point in the future we shall be able to explore our local landscape as well.

nice pictures and how it is describe from you dear friend. So classic and thank you for sharing this wonderful history. It sounds like you are bringing me on that place too by the way you introduce it:) how are you? ;)

You have a really good eye for spotting little details in the picture Diane.And what a lovely tour you gave us. I see that the weather is sunny in your corner of the world. Londonis terribly gray and cold.

Kerry when I think of what we have missed when we drive back and forth in a hurry it really bugs me. There is so much history in almost every village we go to around here, though sometimes it is not obvious. Seek and ye shall find :-) Hope that your are both well, looking forward to you visiting again. Diane xx

I love taking a walk in the villages that speak of history from a bygone era. I am so happy to see that the local authorities take care to preserve their heritage. No wonder everything looks neat and in order. I can sit besides that river for hours doing nothing, thank you very much for taking us on this beautiful trail through your stunning pictures and lovely commentary :-)

Arti there is so much restoration going on in France of public buildings. It is sad though that some of the privately owned buildings are falling down because the young people can not afford to renovate and it is cheaper to build a new home. Our house is 200 years old and it was not cheap to restore and there is still much more maintenance than a new home. We love the old places though. Keep well Diane

Fripouille it was a very clear day, the sun was quite low and very bright. I have a cheap camera that I just use on auto and if the light levels are right, it is not due to any skill by me!! I would love a good camera, but I wonder if I would ever be able to work out how to use it. I am now one up from my old brownie box with a digital :-)) Watch out for Part 2. have a good weekend Diane

Hello Diane. Lovely as always. My husband has taken to photographing old bridges in Australia using panorama. They look wonderful. Your railway halt prompted me to share this. I checked out your photo diary. I'd like to make a site where I added my pictures for bloggers to help themselves, but it would be a daunting task. :D

Hi Denise. When I started the photo diary I though it would be easy, but on busy days it is anything but. Never the less it is a record for ourselves as well as extra photos for bloggers if they are interested. Problem is I dare not forget my camera now:-)Is your husband blogging the photos or is it just for his pleasure as I would love to see some of the pics. Take care Diane

Hi Anne aha so that was why my comments did not appear! I will let you have what photos I have when I do my post towards the end of this week. I will not be using them all but you are welcome to what I have. Take care Diane

Hi Diane, I seem to fallen a bit behind with reading blogs too. I hope you are well!!What a lovely walk you took and you got some really great pictures. I really like that one of the iron gates - they look great with that greenery growing them them.

This part of France is very fascinating indeed. I do not know that very much, but I really love it.It is the area where the advance of the Arabs had been stopped in the VIII century. Sometimes I think about the possible present time, if on that age history would drive to a different path...Your report is a sweet rainbow in a tourist route.Thank You and all the best!

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ABOUT ME

We bought our home in France in 2005, but only at the beginning of November 2011 did we make the final move to retire here. Before this we lived in the UK for 10 years, and previously I lived for many years in what was Rhodesia and then in South Africa.

My blog is mainly about France, restoration, gardening, cooking, travel and anything else that is of interest to me and I hope you as well.